Jobs & Occupations in Chinese 职业
zhíyè
Occupation in Chinese is 职业 (zhí yè).
Also searched for as: job, occupation, profession, what do you do.
What do you do after? 20 essential jobs words in Mandarin Chinese, with pinyin and English. Open it in the app to hear each word, tick off the ones you know and turn them into flashcards.
The everyday word for a job in Chinese is 工作 (gōng zuò), which is both the noun 'job' and the verb 'to work', while 职业 (zhí yè) is the more formal word for an occupation or profession. Learning to name jobs such as 老师 (lǎo shī), 医生 (yī shēng) and 程序员 (chéng xù yuán) lets you answer one of the first questions anyone asks when you meet: what do you do?
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 工作 | gōng zuò | work; job |
| 职业 | zhí yè | occupation |
| 老师 | lǎo shī | teacher |
| 医生 | yī shēng | doctor |
| 护士 | hù shi | nurse |
| 律师 | lǜ shī | lawyer |
| 工程师 | gōng chéng shī | engineer |
| 厨师 | chú shī | chef |
| 司机 | sī jī | driver |
| 警察 | jǐng chá | police officer |
| 经理 | jīng lǐ | manager |
| 服务员 | fú wù yuán | waiter |
| 售货员 | shòu huò yuán | shop assistant |
| 会计 | kuài jì | accountant |
| 设计师 | shè jì shī | designer |
| 程序员 | chéng xù yuán | programmer |
| 记者 | jì zhě | journalist |
| 农民 | nóng mín | farmer |
| 工人 | gōng rén | worker |
| 老板 | lǎo bǎn | boss |
Usage tips
- The natural way to ask about someone's job is 你做什么工作？ (nǐ zuò shén me gōng zuò?). 你的职业是什么？ (nǐ de zhí yè shì shén me?) is correct but sounds like a form.
- Many job titles share an ending: 师 (shī) for trained professionals, as in 律师, 工程师 and 设计师, and 员 (yuán) for staff roles, as in 服务员, 售货员 and 程序员.
- Job titles double as forms of address: people say 王老师 (Wáng lǎo shī), 李医生 (Lǐ yī shēng) or 张经理 (Zhāng jīng lǐ), surname first, rather than using someone's first name.
Common mistakes
- Copying English "a teacher" with 我是一个老师 (wǒ shì yī gè lǎo shī) → it isn't wrong, but natives usually drop the measure word and just say 我是老师 (wǒ shì lǎo shī).
- Reading 会计 as huì jì → in this word 会 is pronounced kuài, so accountant is 会计 (kuài jì).
Mini dialogue
- A你做什么工作？Nǐ zuò shén me gōng zuò?What do you do?
- B我是工程师，在一家汽车公司工作。你呢？Wǒ shì gōng chéng shī, zài yī jiā qì chē gōng sī gōng zuò. Nǐ ne?I'm an engineer at a car company. What about you?
- A我是护士，我丈夫是厨师。Wǒ shì hù shi, wǒ zhàng fu shì chú shī.I'm a nurse, and my husband's a chef.
- B那你们一定都很忙吧！Nà nǐ men yī dìng dōu hěn máng ba!You must both be really busy, then!
Example sentences
- 你理想的职业是什么？What is your ideal occupation?
- 那个售货员对客人很热情。That shop assistant is very friendly to customers.
- 我姐姐在一家银行当会计。My older sister is an accountant at a bank.
- 这件衣服是一位年轻设计师设计的。This outfit is the work of a young designer.
- 他是程序员，每天都写代码。He's a programmer and writes code every day.
- 记者正在采访一位老师。A journalist is interviewing a teacher.
- 这里的农民主要种水稻。The farmers here mainly grow rice.
- 工厂里有两百多个工人。There are over two hundred workers in the factory.
- 我们老板今天心情不错。Our boss is in a good mood today.
Practise speaking
Ready to use these words? The Jobs speaking island has 8 everyday questions about jobs to prepare your own answers to.